by: Steve Link

Enhancing your habitat Story

Habitat, simply put is the area where animals live. The key to wildlife survival, habitat provides four basic elements: food, water, cover and nesting areas.

Whether you have a small backyard or a larger area with fields and/or woodland, you can help provide these essential resources for a variety of wildlife, including birds, butterflies, insects, small mammals and some larger animals.

Begin by walking around your yard or property to identify any existing habitat resources. Make a map or plan of the land, noting any trees, shrubs, flowers, plants, vines and secret spots that might provide cover for wildlife. Look for brush and rock piles, as well as water or wetland areas.

Once your plan is completed, take note of those existing features that are providing good wildlife habitat. From here, you may decide to add more water features, an area for cover and nesting or additional native plants for food.

The best way to provide a year-round source of food is to plant a diverse selection of plants, shrubs, trees and vines. If you live in an apartment or have a very small yard, you may only be able to set out a few flowering plants in the summer, supplemented by feeding a variety of birdseed.

Use feeders designed to keep the seed dry and clean. Check them regularly and discard wet or moldy seeds that can make birds sick. Consider separate birdfeeders for different seed types to minimize waste. Or use a seed mix and and leave the droppings for ground feeding birds and small mammals, if you prefer. If you have room, scatter some mixed birdseed over a small area of ground and allow it to germinate. Ground feeding birds and small mammals appreciate not only the feed, but also the cover provided by the growing seedlings. Various birds, butterflies and bees will appreciate the nectar of potted or garden flowers such as nicotiana, salvia, rudbeckia and snapdragon, to name only a few.

For your small habitat garden, provide cover and nesting spaces with birdhouses. A birdbath will complete the habitat requirements. Birdbaths should be shallow, no more than three-inches deep, and have a sloping, rough bottom to provide good footing.

Larger gardens with fields or lawn and perhaps some wooded areas offer additional opportunities for providing wildlife habitat. In addition to a variety of flowers and plants, shrubs and trees will enhance your landscape and provide the requisite food, cover and nesting sites. Utilize any existing food sources that already exist on your land and purchase other plantings that will invite wildlife to your table.

Some native shrubs and trees to consider are: American Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum trilobum); Common Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis); Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago); American Mountain Ash (Sorbus Americana); Dolgo and Prairie Fire crabapple trees: Silky Dogwood (Cornus ammomum); Red-Osier Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) and Buttonbush (Celphalenthus occidentalis).

Vines such as Dropmore Scarlet Honeysuckle and wild grapes as well as brambles like blackberries and raspberries provide a source of food for many birds, as well as cover and nesting places.

If you've watery habitat on your property, preserve it as a source of water for wildlife. If not, consider putting in a small pond or locate several birdbaths in various secure spots. Heated birdbaths provide a source of water when most other sources are frozen.

Wildlife, particularly birds, seek cover and nesting spots in trees and shrubs. Additional cover can be provided for small mammals such as snowshoe hare, rabbits and other small mammals by creating small brush piles in several locations. Or create a 10-20 foot strip of shrubs, hemlocks, or other evergreens to provide a border for cover and a windbreak for birds, small mammals, beneficial insects and deer. Borders or edges provide both screening from objectionable views and provide animal protection, travel lanes, food, cover and nesting spots.

Finally, keep in mind natural processes in your plan for wildlife habitat. Leave seedpods, berries and grasses to mature. Pile small twigs and branches where animals can scurry for shelter. Allow some areas to remain small fields where grasshoppers can live and turkeys can feed.